President-Elect Trump, Back in Washington, Resembles Candidate Trump

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump made his first visit to Washington on Tuesday in more than a month, appearing at a dinner where he predicted “record” crowds at his inauguration and praised the Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders who plan to protect it from protesters.

In the stream-of-consciousness style he employed at his campaign rallies, Mr. Trump said, “I saw the Bikers for Trump — boy, they had a scene today. I don’t know if I would want to ride one of those, but they do like me. That’s like additional security with those guys, and they’re rough. And they get on that Harley, usually Harley, made right here in America.”

The president-elect, who dislikes sleeping anywhere other than one of his properties, left after the dinner to head back to his triplex at Trump Tower in New York, with less than three days until he formally takes office.

Mr. Trump spoke at a dinner honoring his inauguration committee chairman, Thomas Barrack, before a crowd of roughly 500, including members of the Republican congressional leadership and about 150 diplomats, according to a transition official.

Mr. Trump also praised Vice President-elect Mike Pence and spoke of what a great selection he was.

“Oh, I had a couple of beauties I could have picked,’’ Mr. Trump said. He added, “They were good, too, but maybe wouldn’t have worked out like Mike.”

“We have so many friends, 147 diplomats and investors, never been done before,” he said, adding: “Oh, I know how safe this room is, boy, oh boy. This place is surrounded tonight.”

Mr. Trump, whose remarks about NATO and the European Union over the past week have stoked alarm in foreign nations, then told the diplomats, “We have great respect for your countries, we have great respect for our world.”

Of his selection for secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson, Mr. Trump said: “We have a man that I wanted right from the beginning, Rex Tillerson. Now these lights are bright, but he’s around here someplace. Where’s our Rex? Wow. What a job. Thank you very much, thanks, Rex.”

He described Mr. Tillerson, the former chief executive of Exxon Mobil, as surprised by the rigors of his new role.

“I think it’s tougher than he thought,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s led this charmed life. He goes into a country, takes the oil, goes into another country. It’s tough dealing with these politicians, right? He’s going to be so incredible.”

Mr. Pence sought to soothe frayed nerves.

“I’m not sure that the national media here in America completely understands the president-elect,” he said at the dinner. “I can assure you that the world will.”

While Mr. Trump’s slogan is “America First,” Mr. Pence insisted that “we will work every day with nations around the world to advance the peace and prosperity of our allies and our friends across the world.”

As he often does, Mr. Trump faulted the news media, saying they did not properly portray his victory in the election, in which he won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote by nearly three million votes to Hillary Clinton.

“We set records in so many different ways, they don’t love talking about that on the news.” Mr. Trump said. “They don’t like saying more counties than anybody, you look at a map of the counties in this country that we won and it’s literally entirely, it just looks like it’s entirely red.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A11 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump, in Return to Washington, Seems as Much Candidate as President-Elect. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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